Podcast
Hillary Never Said She is For Peace
She may not be trusted on many things, but at least she never claimed to be a peace candidate. If you liked the Bush/Cheney policy of selective “humanitarian intervention,” you’ll be fine with Hillary Clinton’s positions. Researcher and author Nicolas
Foreign Policy/Defense Analyst: Bernie is the Foreign Policy Realist of 2016
From the point of view of foreign policy and pentagon insiders, the candidate with the most realistic platform to ensure our national security is Bernie Sanders. Guest Robert English, former Pentagon insider and expert on Russia and the USSR, explains
This Populist Moment
Throughout American history there have been times, rare moments in which the political establishment’s movers and shakers quiver as their best laid plans have gone awry. Their too-often successful efforts to keep citizens believing that we are powerless are on
The NH Primary From Media Optic
The 2016 New Hampshire Presidential Primary is history. No one predicted a 22 point blowout for Bernie Sanders. The establishment of both parties was flattened by the results. What the heck happened? Media talent trainer and consultant John Kosinski puts
Burt Cohen on CSPAN -Senator Bernie Sanders’ Campaign in New Hampshire
Washington Journal CSPAN Show
Cowboy Socialism?
The myth of the rugged individualist settling the west is just that: a myth. The work needed to tame the wild and vast open spaces was not done with a lasso. The white people who populated the massive west needed
Unprecedented: Democratic Party War on Bernie Sanders
He’s a leading contender, surging in the polls but the Democratic Party is wielding a real war on Bernie Sanders. According to Princeton history professor Matt Karp, it’s without precedent. Bernie Sanders is clearly carrying on FDR and LBJ Democratic
Norway’s Democratic Socialism Yields Great Freedom
When Americans hear the word socialism, they feel frightened. Bernie Sanders has looked to the nations of Scandinavia for models, while Hillary Clinton runs away from that. What is reality? On this show, Ann Jones (author of Kabul in Winter
Democracy, Chocolate, Hammocks: Italian Style Imperialism
Of course our democratic system of government comes from Italy. So do chocolate, cigars, and hammocks. Instead of simple brute force, the Italian style of empire building relied on commerce and culture. Guest Christopher Kelly (Italian by marriage) talks about
The Death of Critical Thinking: Thank Republicans
It’s no accident that critical thinking is fast dying in America. Former president of the National Trial Lawyers Howard Nations talks on this show about how jury trials and democracy itself has been adversely affected by this intentional dumbing-down of
Undocumented Young Americans: Lives in Limbo
Work hard, do well at school, play by the rules and you’ll do OK. That does not seem to apply to the more than 2 million young Americans whose parents may have fallen through the large cracks in our broken
A New New Deal: How Possible?
No question, FDR was our greatest Democratic president. Though we have, at least for the moment, gone beyond the recession of 2008, perhaps we’ve merely swept the problem under the rug, along with opportunities for real economic security. On this
Money, weapons, silence: US and Saudis vs Iran
On January 2, 2016, our great ally, the Saudi government, cut the heads off 47 prisoners, including the revered Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Shiite Iran was none too pleased. Tensions between them are at an all time high. Guest on
One Day of Peace, 364 of Perpetual War
In the Christmas Truce at the beginning of what was then The Great War, and other lesser know fraternizing between “enemies,” it took courage to question the madness. Still today, Christmas is the one day of peace, while we feel
Why Rich Arab States Won’t Fight Our War Against ISIS
All the presidential contenders and all of Washington’s top brains repeatedly call for the wealthy Arab states to lead the war on ISIS. Why aren’t they doing it? Former State Department whistle-blower Peter Van Buren explains why.
Time to Free Pam Smart. Here’s Why
The ice princess, the black widow. Since the circus of a trial on 1990, Pam Smart has remained in jail with a sentence worse than for Charles Manson. It was a made-for-the-movies spectacle in which the judge said he wanted
Can Democracy Emerge Against the Tyranny of the Troika?
When the combined power of the Troika–European Central Bank, European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund–puts the squeeze of austerity on places like Spain and Portugal, a lot of people feel severe economic pain. But in the Iberian countries, they
The Lasting Effects of Trumpism
Talk about threats to democracy and to America itself: The Trump phenomenon is blatantly racist, xenophobic, and fascist, more and more from both parties are recognizing this. Does Trump give voice to what many Americans secretly feel? In this discussion,
Billionaire Bonanza: Forbes 400 and the Rest of Us
Chuck Collins, founder of Wealth for the Common Good and senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies talks about the new report on the top .01 percent and the impact on our democracy. They are not job creators as
December 7, 1941: Transformation of American Policy and Politics
Of course President Roosevelt knew the Japanese would do something, their oil had been cut off, yet we can conclude he did not know about the specific attack. What no one expected was the transformation of America from a nation
The Disturbing Reality Behind Turkey and the Russian Jet
The mainstream media paints a simple picture: Turkey was merely defending itself. But America’s ally, Turkey’s Erdogan, sees his greatest enemy as the Kurds as he works behind the scenes with ISIS. He doesn’t want Russia attacking ISIS and its
A War The West Can’t Win/Ending TV Ads for Drugs
On the first half, international relations and military history professor Andrew Bacevich on why western belligerence can not be successful against ISIS, and suggests what can work. And on part two, there is a move to once again prohibit those
Killing As Many Civilians as Possible:WWI and ISIS
The horror of ISIS terrorism today grew from the “peace” imposed by the most powerful Western nations on the former Ottoman Empire at the finish of the first world war, a war that never ended. Many more civilians were killed
Beginning of the End for Super PACs?
SuperPACs are one of the greatest threats to what remains of democracy in the USA. These slippery legal entities circumvent campaign finance laws and enable huge money to own government and elections. The founders idea of democracy is destroyed by
Harm to Kids from Authoritarian Control
Is there a worse crime than child abuse? Is the complicity by knowing adults just as bad? Is there something about the very nature of authoritarianism in schools? Guest on this show lived through an atmosphere of abuse in a
Fighting Police Terror/TPP Revealed: Destroying Democracy
For decades police have gotten away with murder. Thanks to cell phones, today they’re getting caught. And they are fighting back, actually threatening such people as Quentin Tarantino. On the first half, guest Travis Morales of Rise Up October and
Government Terrorism Against Asian, Muslim Americans
Of course America is a mosaic of cultures, and all citizens are equally American. But since 9/11, South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Americans have been routinely harassed and often bullied and terrorized, often by actual government policies. People are
Torture and Drones: Democracy Broken
In their chilling and intense new novel Broken! , authors Michael Kearns (who taught “enhanced interrogation”) and Ronald Solomon, former TV producer and creator, paint a vivid picture of a world only slightly different from today, filled with swarms of
The Many Accomplishments of America’s Left/Populist Tradition
While the left has had very few actual electoral victories, author Michael Kazin argues it has very effectively changed the nation. The author of “A Godly Hero: William Jennings Bryan,” talks about his new book “American Dreamers.” What’s gone right
The Arab Spring: What Went So Wrong?
http://media.blubrry.com/keeping_democracy_alive/www.dropbox.com/s/6issbyw42inhgle/ArabSpringRedux.mp3?dl=0It started out so promising: peaceful revolutions for self-determination. From Tunisia through Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and of course Syria. Now Tunisia is the only stable secular democracy, and on this show author and professor Rebecca Gordon sheds light on